10 things to look for at 2021 Wimbledon

 

Today is the eve of 2021 Wimbledon, which means it is time for me to write my 10 things to look for. Yesterday I wrote my 10 things to take away from the 2021 French Open, which you can read here. 

If you want a link to the 2021 Wimbledon draws, click here. If you want a link to the 2021 Wimbledon schedule, click here. Also, Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. Click here for details on that. 

#1. Will the pressure of a calendar slam get to Novak Djokovic? The biggest story coming into this year's Wimbledon is the fact that Novak Djokovic is gunning for a calendar slam, which means a chance to win all four grand slams in one calendar year. Rafael Nadal's dominance at the French Open has typically made a calendar slam impossible, but by beating Nadal and winning the French Open, Djokovic now has as good of a shot as he's ever had to accomplish this monumental feat. Djokovic has won Wimbledon five times in his career, so he should be feeling pretty confident coming into this event. He's number one in the world and is playing the best tennis of his career. 

However, it should be noted that Djokovic has been in this position before. In 2016, he won both the Australian Open and French Open, but failed to win Wimbledon to keep the dream alive. He also did not win the US Open that year. So, it's far from a slam dunk that Djokovic will get the calendar slam even with an elusive French Open title under his belt. I think the biggest hurdle for Djokovic right now is the pressure that comes with chasing a calendar slam and also the physical side of it as well. I'm going to come out right now and say that I do expect Djokovic to win it all on the men's side, but it's going to be no easy task. Especially with a rested Roger Federer in the draw.  

#2. Can Ashleigh Barty win it all as number one? Ashleigh Barty comes in as the number one ranked player in the world on the women's side, making her among the major contenders. However, she's never advanced past the 4th round at Wimbledon and she had a less than stellar outing at this year's French Open, exiting in the 2nd round. 

If Barty wants people to take her world number one ranking seriously, she needs to win a grand slam as the world number one. When she won her lone grand slam title at the 2019 French Open, she was the #8 seed and she kinda came out of nowhere. Since being ranked number one, she hasn't won a grand slam, which is why many don't feel she's a true number one. Winning Wimbledon this year would change that perception of her for sure. 

#3. Will Roger Federer's plan to pull out of the French Open pay off? As I mentioned in yesterday's French Open recap, Roger Federer made the decision to pull out of his 4th round match against Matteo Berrettini at the French Open for the purposes of saving his body for Wimbledon. It was a gutsy decision by Federer that ruffled many feathers. The only way Federer can save face with the decision is if he reaches the final or wins Wimbledon. Otherwise, the decision to pull out of the French Open will look like it wasn't worth it. It'll be interesting to see how far Federer goes and what kind of reception he'll receive at the end of the tournament. 

#4. Can Serena Williams win her 8th Wimbledon and 24th grand slam? If Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, it will be her eighth Wimbledon title and her 24th grand slam title, tying Margaret Court's all-time mark. If you were to pick a place for Serena to tie Court, Wimbledon would be a pretty safe bet. She's won the event seven times before and in her last two trips to Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019 (remember there no Wimbledon last year), she lost in the final, so it kinda feels like she's due to win it again. 

While she's not the top seed, Serena is seeded 6th and is overall sitting in a good position. In case you are wondering, yes, I am picking Serena to win it all this year on the women's side. She's been sitting on 23 for a while and as I said above, it just feels like she's due to get her 24th grand slam title. 

#5.  Can Andy Murray make some noise? Once thought to be done with his tennis career, Andy Murray is back at it and has a wild card into this year's Wimbledon. The two-time Wimbledon champion (2013 and 2016) has already accomplished far more in tennis than anyone ever thought he'd accomplish. Back when he won his first gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, everyone thought that would be the closest he'd ever get to winning Wimbledon or a grand slam. A few weeks later he won the US Open and came back the following year to win his first Wimbledon. So, if there's anyone who knows how to come back from the dead, it's him. Personally, I don't expect much from Murray this year, but if he could somehow find a way to get into the second week, that would be a lot of fun. 

#6. Can Coco Gauff make a deep run? Coco Gauff comes in as the #20 seed and makes her first return to Wimbledon since her 2019 run to the 4th round. Gauff had a strong outing at the French Open, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova. Gauff is proving that she's the real deal and that she has a very bright future in front of her. It'll be fun to see if she can build on her French Open success and past success at Wimbledon to make a real run at the championship. 

#7. Can Stefanos Tsitsipas get even with Novak Djokovic? Stefanos Tsitsipas had a two-set lead on Novak Djokovic in the French Open final and failed to finish the job. Thankfully for him, he has a chance to get right back on the saddle at a grand slam and get even with Djokovic. If they were to meet, it would be in the semifinals as Tsitsipas is the #3 seed and Djokovic is the #1 seed. What a scene that would be if Tsitsipas were to be the one to upend Djokovic on his quest to a calendar slam. It would be a case of Tsitsipas giveth and he taketh away! 

#8. Can Barbora Krejcikova follow up her French Open title with a Wimbledon title? Winning the French Open and Wimbledon is the hardest pair of grand slams to win back-to-back. Part of it has to do with the difference in surface and then also the fact that the two events are typically held two to three weeks apart from each other. I honestly doubt Barbora Krejcikova gets it done, but it'll be interesting to see how close she gets and whether or not she's able to translate success on the clay to grass. 

#9. How far will Daniil Medvedev go? Daniil Medvedev comes in as the number two ranked player in the world behind Novak Djokovic, so he's naturally among the list of contenders on the men's side. However, he hasn't had much success at Wimbledon, never getting further than the 3rd round. If there's reason for Medvedev to have hope it's the simple fact that going into this year's French Open, he had never advanced past the 1st round and he ended up reaching the quarterfinals. So, I do expect Medvedev to be playing into the second week and possibly be on the other side of the net when Djokovic is in the final. 

#10. Can Aryna Sabalenka make some noise? Aryna Sabalenka comes in as the #2 seed on the women's side and the number four ranked player in the world. So naturally she's considered a contender based on her ranking/seeding alone. However, the furthest she's gone at Wimbledon is the 2nd round back in 2017. In 2018 and 2019, she lost in the 1st round. 

The furthest she's gone at a grand slam is the 4th round (2018 US Open and 2021 Australian Open), so it's fair to call her ranking/seeding into question. It'll be interesting to see if Sabalenka can silence her critics a bit with a deep run or if she'll once again flame out early. There's a lot of pressure on her for sure. 

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10 things to take away from the 2021 French Open

                                              (Credit: USA TODAY Sports) 

Before I look ahead to Wimbledon (Round 1 starts Monday), I need to first look back on the two weeks that recently were in Paris at the 2021 French Open. Barbora Krejcikova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to win the women's singles title while Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to win the men's singles title. This was Krejcikova's first grand slam singles title while it was Djokovic's 19th grand slam singles title and second French Open title, with the first one coming in 2016. 

#1. Novak Djokovic is making a serious case for GOAT: I personally don't think the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate will really even be able to begin until Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are all done playing. Until then, all three guys have a strong case for being considered the GOAT with Pete Sampras being firmly in 4th place. 

That all said, I think if we're projecting at where things will eventually land, I think it's likely that when it's all said and done, the general consensus will be that Novak Djokovic is the greatest men's tennis player of all-time. He's only one grand slam title away from tying Nadal and Federer, which means if he wins Wimbledon, there will be a three-way tie for most grand slam singles titles on the men's side with 20. The fact that he's kept pace with them and is the youngest of the three I think gives him an edge for GOAT at the moment. Though once again we'll just have to wait and see where things all land once the dust finally settles and their careers are all over. 

One other feather in Djokovic's cap is that he beat Nadal to win this title. Nadal has won 13 French Open titles and is the undisputed King of Clay. To win his second French Open title and 19th grand slam title by getting past Nadal is definitely something that gives Djokovic a definitive boost in the GOAT debate. 

#2. Barbora Krejcikova is a threat in singles: Barbora Krejcikova was previously thought of as a doubles player who played singles on the side. That no longer can be said. Going into this year's French Open, she had won two grand slam doubles titles (2018 French Open and 2018 Wimbledon) and three grand slam mixed doubles titles (2019 Australian Open, 2020 Australian Open, and 2021 Australian Open) but never had much success on the singles side in grand slams. The furthest she's gone at the Australian Open in singles is the 2nd round (2020 and 2021), the furthest she's gone at the US Open is the 3rd round of the Qualifiers, and by qualifying for the 1st round of Wimbledon this year, that's automatically the furthest she's gone at Wimbledon. 

That all said, the one grand slam where she had found some success was the French Open. In 2020, she did reach the 4th round, so there was some reason for optimism coming in, though nobody expected her to be the one lifting the trophy at the end. 

It'll be interesting to see if she'll be able to build on this success at other grand slams in singles, something I'll address in my Wimbledon preview, but for the purposes of this French Open recap, it's suffice to say that she's at least figured out how to contend at the grand slam singles level on clay. 

#3. Stefanos Tsitsipas' time will come: While he wasn't able to close out Novak Djokovic after going up by two sets in the final, Stefanos Tsitsipas still has to feel good about the two weeks he had at the French Open and feel like he's knocking on the door. Djokovic ended up winning by digging a little deeper and using his experience to his advantage, but make no mistake, Tsitsipas is on track to win multiple grand slams and carve out a Hall of Fame career for himself. 

#4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a breakthrough: Even though she didn't win it all and lost in the final, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has to feel like she had a major breakthrough at Roland Garros. She had never gotten past the quarterfinals at any grand slam before, but this time she went all the way to the final. If she is able to turn lemons into lemonade and build on this, she could be winning a grand slam title very soon. She's 29 years old, turning 30 in a few days. Her best tennis may very well be in front of her and not behind her. 

#5. Rafael Nadal is mortal: I picked Rafael Nadal to win the French Open for obvious reasons. He's the best all-time at Roland Garros and so long as he remains an elite player, he should be the favorite to win it all. That said, he showed that he is mortal and that he can be beaten at this event. But if you are to beat him, you better bring your A-game and that's exactly what Djokovic did, calling it one of the best if not the best match he's ever played in his life. 

#6. Roland Garros just isn't Serena Williams' event: While she has won the French Open twice (2002 and 2013), it's clear that of all the grand slams, it is Serena Williams' weakest even by far. This year, she went out in the 4th round and she hasn't advanced to the quarterfinals since 2016 in which she reached the final. I think it's safe to say that if she is to tie Margaret Court's mark of 24 grand slam titles, it's not likely to come at Roland Garros. 

#7. Roger Federer's decision better pay off at Wimbledon: Roger Federer made a controversial decision to pull out of his 4th round match against Matteo Berrettini in order to rest up for Wimbledon, which is his top event. It was a controversial decision because (A) the fans wanted to see how far he could go and (B) it's just not a great look to pull out of a grand slam unless you are legitimately injured. One has to wonder if playing one more or two more matches would have really hurt his Wimbledon chances. So, if he wants to make this decision seem more justified, he better go deep at Wimbledon and ideally win it all. 

#8. Naomi Osaka needs to get her mind right: The big story from the first week of the French Open was Naomi Osaka withdrawing after winning her 1st round match due to not wanting to talk with the media. She was fined $15,000 and decided she would withdraw after all the grand slams came out and said they might default her going forward if she doesn't comply with her media duties. Osaka said she didn't want to be a distraction and that this is all about her mental health, etc. 

As far as where things sit right now, Osaka will skip Wimbledon, but she does plan to play in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics later this summer per her agent. It's clear that Osaka needs to get her mind right, recharge mentally, and figure out how to not be so worried about talking to the media. She has a bright career in front of her and hopefully this will just be a small bump in the road for her in the grand scheme of things. 

#9. Daniil Medvedev can win a match at Roland Garros: If you read my preview, you know that Daniil Medvedev had never gotten past the 1st round at Roland Garros coming into this event. So, it was of keen interest to see how far he could go. All things considered, he should be happy with how things went. He reached the quarterfinals, which is far better than the 1st round. Medvedev showed that he can find some success at this event and maybe this will propel him to even bigger things next year. 

#10. Iga Świątek was unable to defend her title: Iga Świątek came in as the defending champion on the women's side, but she was unable to defend her title. She didn't do terrible as she lost in the quarterfinals, but she was unable to recapture the magic from last October. It'll be interesting to see how she does next year and also how she does at the remaining grand slams this year. Wimbledon starting on Monday will give her a chance to show that she can win on surfaces other than clay. 

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